A guide to Madrid Nightlife
You may have heard claims that Madrid nightlife boasts the liveliest, latest, bounciest, booziest, jauntiest and juiciest in the entire northern hemisphere? Well, quite frankly, the pie-eyed pub pundits have got it just about right. Read The Spain Event’s Guide to Madrid night spots here and do Madrid in style.
It’s all here, on the streets, in the clubs and in the wee nooks and crannies you might need a lifetime to discover if it weren’t for The Spain Guide to Madrid Night Spots...Most visitors to Madrid end up exhausted, in the nicest possible way, and marvel at the sheer appetite of the local Madrileños for fun, fun, and er, more fun.
Get something booked in
If you want to make it easy book a Madrid bar crawl and get a fantastic intro to the night scene with one of ur guide. Or, let us know which club you’d like to hit and we’ll sort out Madrid nightclub bookings. Tapas tours and wine tastings are other big favourites, and our hen groups are pretty partial to sampling a Madrid cocktail or two. And if you want the full monty (literally) check out our Madrid striptease and dinner stag night .
Getting out and about around Madrid
Walking around, bar-hopping by day or night, and getting just a little bit lost, is a recreational activity we strongly recommend. Most of the key addresses in the city centre are best reached on foot through the maze of old streets near Sol and Gran Via. But, if you get your act together, you can also take the Metro, it’s fast, clean and virtually free if you buy a transport card, a ten–journey ticket you can share that costs about 6 quid. And if in doubt, jump in a cab (plentiful on the street and also cheap), and gesture to the driver using a map!
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Madrid Club Guide
Clubs never warm up until after 3 am, so pace yourself. And remember that in Spain cover charges on the door almost always includes a free drink, so don’t lose that ticket and hand it to the barman when you order!
Sala Sol (Calle Jardines, 3)
Stag’s favourite, low-priced, laid-back, throbbing with swaying locals and weekender females, and open till 6am. This place peaks around 3-4 am, so aim to be in by 0230. If you do get stuck in the queue, the street vendor opposite sells beer! Once in, you’ll lose your mates in the sea of humanity, but love it!
Joy (C/ Arenal, 11)
A Madrid nightlife classic. Also open till 6am this is one of Madrid’s classic night scenes, with an eclectic bunch of people and music.
Teatro Barcelo (C/ Barcelo, 11)
This is the original Pacha! Another one of the classic Madrid night spots Madrid full of savvy locals and out-of-towners alike.
Kapital (C/Atocha, 125)
Another Madrid nightlife classic Kapital’s 7 different floors gives scope for all tastes. The music is house, r’n b, funk, techno, Spanish etc , and its go-go dancers and laser show are legendary. Open till 12- 6.
Late Night Food
You’ve been out on the razz for 14 hours, the bright morning sun is hurting your eyes, and you have no idea where you are…don’t despair, there’s food to be had, and that’ll keep you going through the Madrid nightlife!
Chocolateria San Gines. (C/ San Gines)
Next door to joy, try the classics Spanish after club donuts (churros) dipped in hot chocolate. A Madrid nightlife institution for revellers with the munchies.
Gran Via street vendors
Check out the bocadillo (sandwich), rice and noodle sellers (look for the cardboard boxes!) along the Gran Via, while perusing the colourful and friendly selection of señoras de la noche that line that strip of Gran Via. They also sell cans of beer!
Calle San Bernardo, near Gran Via
Breakfast joints full of clubbers usually open around 5-6am
Madrid nightlife and Clubs
You’ll find that the best atmosphere before 10pm is in Irish and Sports bars. As there are so many bars to choose from, our recommendation is to take a zone-by-zone approach: choose an area of town and explore. You won’t be disappointed! Claims that there are more bars here than in the whole UK may be verging on exaggeration, but remember Madrid has serious amounts of bars.
And you have to pace yourselves. At weekends dinner finishes around midnight then the night life begins! Head for the bars first (open till 3am usually) as clubs never get going at weekends until well after 2 am, (and some “after hours” keep going till after midday the next day).
Madrid night scene – Santa Ana/Huertas
Near the Puerta del Sol nerve centre, this area is full of bars and clubs and full of night life. It’s the most popular area in Madrid for out-of-towners and locals alike (and where you’ll most likely bump into a Hen group!). You can start slowly on a terrace at Plaza Santa Ana and work your way down Calle Huertas, a bar-lined street, down to Atocha, to finish your evening at Kapital night club. Or stay around the streets between Santa Ana and Sol (Calle Cruz, Calle Principe). Nearby are Orox, Café Ducados, Sala Sol, Joy, Palacio Gaviria, Black Jack and many others.
Madrid Nightlife – La Latina
A cool, very Spanish going out area, with lots of tabernas and tapas places. It’s in the back streets of Madrid’s old town, and the action is around the La Latina square (Puerta del Moro), and the neighbouring square (Plaza de la Paja), with bars, restaurants, and cocktail bars. It’s a very smooth and relaxed area, and a good launch pad for a proper nightclub, once all the action closes down around 3am.
What to do in Madrid at night – Chueca/ Alonso Martínez
Try some of the trendy bars at the top of Calle Hortaleza and around the Plaza de Chueca (especially the Bodega). Chueca is a Madrid nightlife classic area, a very laid back zone mainly with gay bars, one of Madrid’s most celebrated going out areas, a mecca of the gay-friendly nightlife and well-known for its liberal attitudes all over Europe. This is a gay/mixed area but also loved by folks of all persuasions.
Bar guide to Madrid – Malasaña
This is another typically Spanish going out area full of tapas bars and small bar/clubs. Very popular with the young Spanish Indie crowd, this is a pub-crawlers paradise, where the action spills out on to the streets. There lots of small, cheap bars & rock music bars, if that floats your boat. Arrive after 23:00 – you just need to follow the hordes which spill onto the streets well into the wee small hours. Key streets are: Corredera Baja de San Pablo, Calle Espiritu Santo, Calle Manuela Malasaña, Calle La Palma and Plaza Dos de Mayo.
Madrid Nightlife – Strip Clubs
Be aware that Strip Clubs in Spain are very full-on sex clubs that near little relation to UK lap dancing or striup clubs. That means that the girls do not stop short of dancing topless. All have private rooms for much more personal attention. You’ll find a cluster of these haunts around the Santo Domingo area of Gran Via (the best of which is Chelsea II, see below).
Chelsea II (Calle Silva, 6)
Costs €20 approx for entrance including a drink. Includes a go-go area and more private seating. Open every night.
New Girls Cabaret (Calle Flor Baja, 1)
Our favourite. Costs €20 approx for entrance including a drink. Includes a go-go area and more private seating. Open every night.
Madrid Tapas Bars
Tapas can be the best, and most economical way of getting an authentic local nosh-up. The start to the real authentic Madrid nightlife. Madrid is tapas heaven and you can really get them on any street (especially around Plaza Santa Ana/Sol) . But here are some places we specially recommend:
Café Las Bravas, (A few near Calle Espoz y Mina)
A Madrid institution, specialising in spicy potatoes (Patatas bravas), tasty fried fish, or octopus!
El Abuelo (Nuñez de Arce, 5)
This place serves delightful gambas (prawns) in garlic and chile. Also try the langostinos.
Museo del Jamon (Carrera de San Jeronimo)
The museum of ham. Say No more. It’s delicious.